Description

Wang Dang Doodle-> Jack Straw, Loser, Me & My Uncle-> Mexicali Blues, Bird Song, Hell In A Bucket-> Day Job China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, I Need A Miracle-> Bertha-> China Doll-> Drums-> Saint Stephen-> Throwing Stones-> Touch Of Grey, E: Johnny B. Goode

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Reviewer: Harry Morgan - - July 22, 2010
Subject: Lord, we are thankful for that which we are about to receive.
This Silberman recording is NUTS! His work on this tour is unimpeachable. Click the link for his name and listen. Thank you, kind sir.

I don't know if it's even possible to list the best audience recordings made of the Grateful Dead, but this one has to be somewhere among them. It's sooooo damn good. He's in that spot where you can barely here the audience (I understand this might be a negative for some), yet you still get the ambiance of the venue. (Call me crazy, but MSG has proven again and again to be one of the great venues to record open-air.)

And hey. This Fall '83 tour is smokin'. Truly. Forget the Persian, forget the post-76 downhill slide, forget the caveats about Jerry's voice and lyrics that get mucked. Give 'em a listen. Warts and all: great energy and great communication among the boys. You can hear them listening to each other. And that ain't nothin'.

I love this show, from the sloppy Wang Dang Doodle to the Keep Your Day Job, which, by the way, for an oft-trashed 'throw-away' tune, rocks. This Birdsong is one of my favs. Bobby gets this nutty-crazy-mind-warping sound during the jam with whatever envelope filter he's using and Jerry has an orgasm all over it.

The second set is plain rollicking fun. (There are problems with the sound system during the China > Rider, starting during the transition, which manifests itself as some fairly heinous popping -- careful with the volume here. We later discover that this is due to one of Jerry's speakers having just "barked its little heart out.") I love the jam after Bertha which gives way, wonderfully, to China Doll (Jerry's voice only fractured and just a little nervous from the fall). Skeletons banging 'round in the closet during drums, and a delightfully creepy space (turn off the lights). Then the first St. Stephen since '79 and the last of three they would ever play.

This is a very, very good show, supremely well recorded. I will add the word pristine. Get the Shorten files, convert, and play it LOUD.

Reviewer: themuscneverstops - - September 11, 2008
Subject: Correection to previous reviewer
Average show, good sound, but it'd only been 5 years since Phil had sung on stage. If you listen to "Bid You Good Night" from The Closing of Winterland, he is singing along with the band. Cool Stephen breakout, but I can't hear the crowd when Phil starts to sing, well I can, but not as loud as I'd like. For something like that, I want to HEAR the crowd. Like 3/20/86 Box of Rain or the 1st Unbroken Chain or the Attics breakout, those crowds are incredible to hear.

Reviewer: Jay J - - January 1, 2007
Subject: All about Phil!!
Not the boest show or even the best Stephen, but yo'all are missing the point. I've been to many Garden events and show and nothing beats Phil steeping up to the Mike duirng Stephen after a what? 9 year absence. That's the whole joy to this show. It was loud when they broke into Stephen, as loud as I've heard the Garden but the roof blew off when Phil stepped to the mike for the end of the song. One of my most memeorable nights as a dead head ever. (It may have ben louder when the Rangers won the cup in '94, but not much).

Reviewer: Liamfinnegan - - July 16, 2006
Subject: Very surprising ending to Throwing Stones
WOw- take a listen to this- it is a cassidy like jam before the final verses of the song- it starts at the 5 minute mark- this was before they added that "smason and delilah" type instrumental which would be the final form of the song

Reviewer: grendelschoice - - November 4, 2005
Subject: Crowd reaction to Stephen
Somehow scored 4th row seats for this. First St. Stephen in 5 years and what's most remarkable about this show is the crowd reaction upon hearing those opening notes. This recording captures very well the WAVE that swept thru MSG when they busted out the Stephen. To be perfectly honest, though, listening back to the show, it's not one of the better played shows of this year. I'm not saying bad, just not at the level of some of the killer Hartford shows, for example.

Well worth the DL for the audience energy from Stephen.

Reviewer: skjellyfetti,m - - October 8, 2005
Subject: this ones better than sbd
stream both versions of st stephen and youll see
why.fuller sound spectrum and audience noise in all the right places make this one the keeper.

Reviewer: early 80's meltdown - - October 6, 2005
Subject: Fall 83 MSG the place to be
There were more good shows than bad. Look at the spring and summer tours they were smokin'.
I think people sometimes mistake the sound of the recording for bad playing. 1983 seems to be a spottier year for good clear sounding audience and crisp soundboards compared to 84 boards and 85 aud.'s and sound boards. As far as the playin, They were on fire most of the time. This recording sounds pretty good, I like the show more than the recording. I also believe that persian habit did help, those solo's and jams were blow outs, over the top. They way he sang every thing was affected by that and I think its sad to say but in my opinion he sounded good all they way around except when it caught up with him by 86' and it detoriated him faster in the later years it worked against him. In the begining it was all fun and games for big Jerry and to me it sounded like it from 77-85 and in some real killer spots of 87-88. Finally hot as hell in 89 through summer 90. Unstopable ! (I take that back Vince Welnick from the tubes slowed them down quit a bit.) No complaints fom me in 1983. Take it any day over 1993.

Reviewer: bizzap - - April 16, 2005
Subject: Great show
This was my first show ever in NYC maybe my 10th or 11th show ever. I hitch-hiked down to some old friends houses near philly and we took the train up to the shows then I left there and hitch-hiked up to Hartford. Definitely a fantastic fall break from college. I have never heard before and after a crowd that loud when St Stephen was played. The energy leval in the halls after the show was some of the loudest ever as well. The crowd was definitely louder than the band. This show will always and forever stick out in my memory even as I age.

Reviewer: akmusher - - January 26, 2005
Subject: MSG Fall 83
For those who enjoy the highest quality aud recordings for their ability to put us back in the crowd, this is one to get. I am of the opinion that a few shows in 83 rank as the strongest for that decade, even with Garcia's escalating "persian" habit. Also, the scene had not yet grown too big so this was a very experienced crowd. This was also when I got on the bus (Worcester 10/21/83) so I tend to be a little biased.
Owner of one of the first digital recorders on tour, Silberman is also responsible for the 4th row FOB recording of the Worcester show on 10/21.
A friends' older brother attended and dosed for this one and commented that the Jerry led space went on and on until most of the crowd was actually sitting down and quietly listening. When the 1st notes of St. Stephen appeared, everyone jumped up all at once and started screaming. Although the Stephen is not on the level of the late 60's/early 70's, or even 77', it is still a rush to hear the appearence of and reaction to the unexpected.
Other highlights- an absolutely killer Bird Song, a fast and furious China / Rider, and a great short jam which arises out of nothing and leads us into the China Doll.

Reviewer: JaCkSTraw8995 - - October 19, 2004
Subject: saint stephen
How about that shit. I didnt even know they played saint stephen after a certain period (after '79 maybe)....its some good stuff too check it out...recording isnt so bad either...i give it 5 stars just for this

Notes

FOB Sennheiser 441's > Technics PCM master > DAT; Transfer:  DAT
> ZA2 > SoundForge; Taper: Jeff Silberman; via A. Gustin to etree, stemming
from tree run by M. Daniel, F. Venezia; barely fits on 2 discs without
filler; filler 4/17/84, same source